System And Method For Presenting A Computed Route

ABSTRACT

A method for presenting a route includes receiving a starting point and a destination point and computing a route that includes a route segment between the two points. The method further includes determining, based on a user&#39;s travel history, that the route segment is an unfamiliar segment. The method includes determining an alternative route from the starting point to the destination point that includes a familiar road identified based on the user&#39;s travel history instead of the unfamiliar segment. The method further includes providing the computed route and the alternative route for presentation in a format that distinguishes the computed route from the alternative route.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/066,802 titled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING A COMPUTED ROUTE,”filed Oct. 30, 2013, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/053,298 titled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING A COMPUTEDROUTE,” filed Mar. 22, 2011, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/715,452 titled, “SYSTEM AND METHOD FORPRESENTING A COMPUTED ROUTE,” filed Mar. 2, 2010, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/279,781 titled,“SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRESENTING A COMPUTED ROUTE,” filed Apr. 14, 2006now U.S. Pat. No. 7,702,456, which are commonly owned with thisapplication, the entire disclosure of which are here incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

Computer mapping applications allow a user to view maps of regionsaround the world. Mapping applications typically allow the user to zoomin and zoom out of a map so that the user can explore the region atvarious levels, e.g., street level, city level, state level. One commonfeature of the typical mapping application is the ability to compute aroute between two locations in response to receiving a starting pointand a destination point from the user. Typically, the computed route ishighlighted on a map of the region containing the starting anddestination points. The user can magnify sections of the map to see theroute in greater detail. For example, the map can be magnified todisplay the streets on the route, as well as the streets surrounding theroute. In some cases, the mapping application can also display landmarksand/or points of interest along the route.

The computed route is typically the shortest path between the startingpoint and destination point. Nevertheless, the mapping application cantake into consideration various factors, such as the size of thestreets, i.e., the number of lanes, and whether the streets are one wayor bi-directional. This mapping data is typically stored in a storagemechanism, locally or remotely, and accessed by the mapping applicationin computing the route. Thus, the resulting route need not necessarilybe the absolute shortest path, but the most practical path under theconditions considered.

Because the mapping data only provides information about the roads, themapping application does not take into account factors specific to theuser. In particular, the mapping application generally does not considerthe user's familiarity with the roads on the route and therefore, thecomputed route can be disorienting for the user if it comprises severalunfamiliar segments. To address this concern, some mapping applicationstrack and store the user's preferences and travel history, e.g., theroads traveled by the user, and use the preferences and travel historyto compute the route. This approach, however, can be problematic whenthe resulting computed route is significantly lengthened to accommodatethe familiar roads.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, a method and a device for presenting a route are described.According to one exemplary embodiment, a method for presenting a routeincludes receiving a starting point and a destination point andcomputing a route that includes a route segment between the two points.The method further includes determining, based on a user's travelhistory, whether the route segment is an unfamiliar segment, andidentifying, based on the user's travel history, a road that is familiarto the user and that is within a scaled range of the unfamiliar segment.The computed route and the familiar road are then presented in a formatthat distinguishes the familiar road from the computed route, and thefamiliar road is represented relative to the unfamiliar segment.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a device includes means forreceiving a starting point and a destination point, means configured tocompute a route that includes a route segment between the two points,means for determining, based on a user's travel history, whether theroute segment is an unfamiliar segment, and means for identifying, basedon the user's travel history, a road that is familiar to the user andthat is within a scaled range of the unfamiliar segment. The devicefurther includes means for presenting the computed route and thefamiliar road relative to the unfamiliar segment in a format thatdistinguishes the familiar road from the computed route.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a device comprises a userinterface for receiving a starting point and a destination point, and arouting module configured to compute a route that includes a routesegment between the two points. The routing module is also configured todetermine, based on a user's travel history, whether the route segmentis an unfamiliar segment, and to identify, based on the user's travelhistory, a road that is familiar to the user and that is within a scaledrange of the unfamiliar segment. The device also includes a display thatpresents the computed route and the familiar road relative to theunfamiliar segment in a format that distinguishes the familiar road fromthe computed route.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings provide visual representations which will beused to more fully describe the representative embodiments disclosedhere and can be used by those skilled in the art to better understandthem and their inherent advantages. In these drawings, like referencenumerals identify corresponding elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary route deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process forpresenting a route according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process fordetermining whether a route segment is unfamiliar according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process foridentifying a familiar road according to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIGS. 5A-5D are diagrams illustrating an exemplary computed routeaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects will now be described in connection with exemplaryembodiments, including certain aspects described in terms of sequencesof actions that can be performed by elements of a computing device orsystem. For example, it will be recognized that in each of theembodiments, at least some of the various actions can be performed byspecialized circuits or circuitry (e.g., discrete and/or integratedlogic gates interconnected to perform a specialized function), byprogram instructions being executed by one or more processors, or by acombination of both. Thus, the various aspects can be embodied in manydifferent forms, and all such forms are contemplated to be within thescope of what is described.

According to one embodiment, a route device receives a starting pointand a destination point and computes a route between the two points. Thecomputed route can be divided into a plurality of route segments. Eachroute segment is analyzed to determine whether the segment is familiaror unfamiliar to the user based on the user's travel history. When aroute segment is unfamiliar, a road that is familiar to the user andthat is within a scaled range of the unfamiliar segment is identified.After each segment is analyzed, the computed route and the identifiedfamiliar road(s) are presented to the user in a format thatdistinguishes the familiar road(s) from the computed route.

In one embodiment, the computed route can be distinguished from thefamiliar road(s) in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to,using different colors, line thicknesses, highlighting, line styles, andline flashing to represent the route and the familiar road. In thismanner, the computed route can be the most practical route from astarting point to a destination point, and because the user is providedwith familiar reference points in otherwise unfamiliar segments of thecomputed route, the user can feel more comfortable and confidentfollowing the computed route.

FIG. 1 is block diagram illustrating an exemplary route device accordingto an exemplary embodiment. The device 100 includes a means for trackinga position of the device 100. For example, the device 100 can include apositioning system 102 that tracks the position of the device 100. Thepositioning system 102 can be a well known global positioning system(GPS) that utilizes satellites 104 to determine the device'slongitudinal and latitudinal position. The device 100 can also include amap source 106 from which mapping data (not shown) can be retrieved thatallows the positioning system 102 to correlate the device's positionwith a road.

In one embodiment, the device 100 is used in a vehicle that is operatedby the user. Accordingly, when the user is traveling in the vehicle, thedevice 100 is effectively tracking the position of the user and theroads on which the user is traveling.

According to one embodiment, the device 100 includes a means forrecording the user's travel history that stores and manages the roads onwhich the user has traveled. For example, the device 100 can include atravel history manager 130 that is configured to receive travel data142, i.e., a road on which the user is presently traveling, from thepositioning system 102 and to store the travel data 142 in a storagemechanism, such as a database 140. In one embodiment, the travel historymanager 130 manages the travel data 142 and tracks how frequently theuser has traveled on a road.

In an exemplary embodiment, the device 100 includes a means forcomputing a route between a starting point and a destination point. Forexample, the device 100 can include a routing module 120 that isconfigured to compute a route between the starting point and thedestination point. The routing module 120 is coupled to a means forreceiving the starting point and the destination point, such as a userinterface 110. In one embodiment, the user interface 110 can prompt theuser to enter the starting point and the destination point. In anotherembodiment, the user interface 110 can prompt the user to enter only thedestination point, and the routing module 120 can use the presentposition of the user as the starting point. Given the starting point andthe destination point, the routing module 120 can compute a routebetween the two points by using mapping data retrieved from the mapsource 106, as is well known in the art.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the routing module 120 isconfigured to divide the computed route into a plurality of routesegments and to determine whether a route segment is unfamiliar to theuser based on the travel history of the user. In one embodiment, therouting module 120 uses the travel history manager 130 to search thetravel data 142 to determine whether any portion of a route segmentmatches a road that is familiar to the user. When no portion of theroute segment matches a familiar road, the route segment is anunfamiliar segment, and the routing module 120 is configured to identifyone or more roads that are familiar to the user and that are within ascaled range of the unfamiliar segment. The computed route andidentified familiar road(s) are then presented on a display 110 in aformat that distinguishes the familiar road(s) from the computed routesuch that the user can orient herself in the unfamiliar segment(s) ofthe computed route.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, the positioning system 102 and map source106 can be external to the route device 100. In one embodiment, the mapsource 106 can reside on a server (not shown) communicatively coupled tothe positioning system 102 and the route device 100 via a network, suchas the Internet. In addition, the travel data 142 can be stored on anexternal storage mechanism, e.g., database 140, on the network, e.g.,the Internet, so that the travel data 142 for a particular user can beretrieved using different route devices 100. Thus, for example, the usercan operate a friend's vehicle that is also equipped with the routedevice 100, and the route device 100 can identify roads familiar to theuser, regardless of whether the user is the vehicle's regular user.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process forpresenting a route using the route device 100 according to oneembodiment. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the exemplary process beginswhen the routing module 120 receives a starting point and a destinationpoint (block 200). As stated above, the user interface 110 can promptthe user to enter the starting and destination points, i.e., addresses,intersections, cities, etc. In another embodiment, the user interface110 can prompt the user to enter the destination point, and the routingmodule 120 can retrieve the present position of the user from thepositioning system 102 and use the present position as the startingpoint. Once the starting and destination points have been received, therouting module 120 can compute one or more routes between the two points(block 202) using any well known route computing technique, e.g.,shortest distance, shortest distance using wide streets, fastest route,etc. An exemplary route is illustrated in FIG. 5A, where point Arepresents the starting point 501 and point B represents the destinationpoint 503. If more than one route 500 is computed, the user can beprompted to select a route 500 for presentation.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the routing module 120 may dividethe (selected) computed route 500 into a plurality of route segments(block 204). For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the computed route 500 isdivided into three (3) route segments, x (502 a), y (502 b) and z (502c). In one embodiment, the route segments 502 a-502 c can be equal inlength and based on the overall length of the computed route 500. Forexample, the length of each route segment 502 a-502 c can be the smallerof a pre-selected fraction of the computed route length, e.g., ⅛ of thetotal length, or a predetermined length, e.g., 10 miles. In anotherembodiment, the route segments 502 a-502 c need not be equal in length,but based on characteristics of the computed route 500 instead. Forexample, the route segments 502 a-502 c can be based on a change ofdirection, or on a change of the road being traversed, or on a change ofterrain, e.g., from a valley to mountains, from a city to a suburb. Inanother embodiment, the route segments 502 a-502 c can be based on acombination of factors, including but not limited to those mentionedabove.

Referring again to FIG. 2, after the computed route 500 has been dividedinto route segments 502 a-502 c, the routing module 120 analyzes a firstroute segment (e.g., 502 a) (block 206) and determines whether the routesegment 502 a is unfamiliar to the user (block 207). FIG. 3 is a flowdiagram illustrating a process for determining whether the route segment502 a is unfamiliar according to one embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the exemplary process begins by trackingthe user's position while the user is traveling and correlating theposition with a road (block 300). As stated above, the positioningsystem 102 tracks the position of the user in the vehicle. For example,the positioning system 102 can be a global positioning system (GPS) thatuses a receiver in the vehicle to receive broadcasts from GPS satellites104. Based on signals received from at least three satellites, thepositioning system 102 can accurately determine its position inlongitudinal and latitudinal coordinates. When coupled with a map source106, the positioning system 102 can correlate the position with a road.Such positioning systems 102 are well known and are quickly becomingstandard components in vehicles.

According to an exemplary embodiment, the roads traveled by the user,i.e., the travel data 142, are collected by the travel history manager130 and stored in a database 140 (block 302). When the routing module120 analyzes a route segment 502 a to determine whether it isunfamiliar, the routing module 120 parses the route segment into itscomponent roads and uses the travel history manager 130 to compare eachroad of the route segment with the travel data 142 (block 304). If anyroad of the route segment matches a road traveled by the user (block305), the route segment is determined to be familiar (block 306). In oneembodiment, the user need not have actually traveled on that particularpart of the route segment that matches the road traveled by the user. Inother words, the road is familiar to the user so long as the user hastraveled on some portion of the matching road. If none of the roads ofthe route segment match a road traveled by the user (block 305), theroute segment is determined to be unfamiliar (block 308).

Referring again to FIG. 2, when the route segment 502 a is determined tobe an unfamiliar segment (block 207), the routing module 120 identifies,based on the user's travel history/data 142, one or more roads that arefamiliar to the user and that are within a scaled range of theunfamiliar segment (block 208). In one embodiment, the scaled range isbased on the length of the unfamiliar segment. For example, the scaledrange can be the smaller of a pre-selected fraction, e.g., ⅕, of thelength of the unfamiliar segment and a predetermined distance, e.g., 1mile. In another embodiment, the user can incrementally expand thescaled range in order to find the nearest familiar road when no familiarroads are identified within the initial scaled range.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a process for identifying afamiliar road according to an exemplary embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1and FIG. 4, the exemplary process begins by determining the scaled rangebased on the length of the unfamiliar segment (block 400). In oneembodiment, shown in FIG. 5C, the scaled range, SR (504), is a circlewith radius, r, around a point on the unfamiliar segment 502 c. Theradius, r, can be based on the length of the unfamiliar segment. Therouting module 120 then identifies roads within the scaled range 504 onwhich the user has traveled (block 402). In one embodiment, the routingmodule 120 can use the travel history manager 130 to search the traveldata 142 for traveled roads falling within the scaled range 504. As isshown in FIG. 5C, the routing module 120 has identified three (3)traveled roads, TR1 (510 a), TR2 (510 b), TR3 (510 c). As noted above,the portions of the identified traveled roads that fall within thescaled range 504 can be portions on which the user has not actuallytraveled. Thus, the user need only be familiar with the road name andnot necessarily with the portion of the road near the unfamiliarsegment.

According to one exemplary embodiment, once the traveled roads 510 a-510c have been identified (block 402), the routing module 120 considers afirst traveled road, e.g., 510 a, (block 404), and determines thedistance, d, between the road 510 a and the unfamiliar segment 502 c(block 406). Then, the routing module 120 determines the number oftimes, n, the user has traveled on the road 510 a (block 408). Based onthe distance, d, and the frequency with which the user has traveled onthe road 510 a, the routing module 120 calculates a weight for the road510 a (block 410). For example, in one embodiment, the weight, W, can becalculated in the following manner:

W=n×1/(1+d)

If more traveled roads exist (block 411), the next traveled road, e.g.,510 b, is considered (block 412) and process blocks 406 through 410 arerepeated. Once all of the identified traveled roads 510 a-510 c havebeen weighted, the routing module 120 can select the familiar road basedon its weight (block 414). In addition, the routing module 120 canselect the familiar road based only on its distance from the unfamiliarsegment, or only on the number of times the user has traveled on thatroad, or any weighted combination of the two. Alternatively, the routingmodule 120 can merely select all of the familiar roads that are withinthe scaled range without regard to ranking them by familiarity orproximity.

Referring again to FIG. 2, once the one or more familiar roads areidentified (block 208), the routing module 120 determines whether moreroute segments 502 a-502 c need to be processed (block 209). If such isthe case, the routing module 120 proceeds to the next route segment,e.g., 502 b, (block 210) and processing blocks 207 and 208 are repeatedfor each remaining route segment. After all of the route segments 502a-502 c have been analyzed, the computed route 500 and the familiarroad(s) are displayed to the user (block 212) in a format thatdistinguishes the familiar roads from the computed route. As statedabove, the computed route 500 can be distinguished from the familiarroads in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, usingdifferent colors, line thicknesses, highlighting, line flashing and linestyles, as is shown in FIG. 5D. In one embodiment, familiar roads arepresented using a presentation scheme different from the presentationscheme of the computed route and/or of the surrounding map information.That is, the familiar road or roads can be presented according to acommon scheme that differs from the scheme of other elements of the map.

Although FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which the route is dividedinto multiple segments, it should be understood that dividing the routeinto segments is optional and the route can, in effect, be processed asa single segment. That is, blocks 204, 209, and 210 may be omitted fromthe figure and the route can be considered as a single segment withoutdeparting from the subject matter described herein.

In one exemplary embodiment, an alternative route can be computed inresponse to the user selecting one or more of the familiar roads 512. Inthis embodiment, the alternative route replaces an unfamiliar road in anunfamiliar route segment with the familiar road selected by the user. Inthis manner, the user can customize the computed route.

The executable instructions of a computer program as illustrated in FIG.2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 can be embodied in any computer readable medium foruse by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus,or device, such as a computer based system, processor containing system,or other system that can fetch the instructions from the instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions.

As used here, a “computer readable medium” can be any means that cancontain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for useby or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice. The computer readable medium can be, for example, but notlimited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared,or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium.

More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablemedium can include the following: a wired network connection andassociated transmission medium, such as an ETHERNET transmission system,a wireless network connection and associated transmission medium, suchas an IEEE 802.11(a), (b), or (g) or a BLUETOOTH transmission system, awide-area network (WAN), a local-area network (LAN), the Internet, anintranet, a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc (CD), aportable digital video disc (DVD), and the like.

According to the exemplary embodiments, a computed route from a startingpoint to a destination point is displayed along with one or morefamiliar roads near unfamiliar segments of the computed route. Bydisplaying the familiar roads near unfamiliar segments of the route, theuser can orient herself with reference to the familiar roads.Accordingly, the user can follow the computed route with more confidenceand less anxiety.

It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that theconcepts and techniques described here can be embodied in variousspecific forms without departing from the essential characteristicsthereof. The presently disclosed embodiments are considered in allrespects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of theinvention is indicated by the appended claims, rather than the foregoingdescription, and all changes that come within the meaning and range ofequivalence thereof are intended to be embraced.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method for determining a route, the methodcomprising: by an electronic device including one or more processors:receiving a starting point and a destination point; computing a routefrom the starting point to the destination point; determiningautomatically an alternative route from the starting point to thedestination point that includes a familiar route segment identifiedbased on a user's travel history, the familiar route segment providingan alternate route for a less familiar route segment in the computedroute; and providing the computed route and the alternative route forpresentation in a format that distinguishes the computed route from thealternative route.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein receiving thestarting point comprises determining a present position of the user. 4.The method of claim 2 wherein receiving the starting point and thedestination point includes prompting a user to enter the starting pointand the destination point.
 5. The method of claim 2 wherein computingthe route comprises: retrieving mapping data from a map source; andusing the mapping data to create the computed route.
 6. The method ofclaim 2 wherein determining automatically an alternative route from thestarting point to the destination point that includes a familiar routesegment identified based on a user's travel history includes determininga plurality of roads on which the user has traveled and storing theplurality of traveled roads.
 7. The method of claim 6 whereindetermining the plurality of traveled roads includes using an electronicpositioning system to track the user's position while the user istraveling and using a map source to correlate the user's position with aroad.
 8. The method of claim 6 comprising: searching the plurality oftraveled roads to identify a portion of a traveled road that fallswithin the scaled range of the less familiar route segment, wherein theportion of the traveled road within the scaled range is a portion onwhich the user has not traveled.
 9. The method of claim 6 comprising:searching the plurality of traveled roads to identify a portion of atraveled road that falls within the scaled range of the less familiarroute segment, wherein the portion of the traveled road within thescaled range is a portion on which the user has traveled.
 10. The methodof claim 6 comprising: searching the plurality of traveled roads toidentify a plurality of traveled roads that fall within the scaled rangeof the less familiar route segment; and selecting the familiar road fromthe identified plurality of traveled roads based on a distance betweeneach of the identified traveled roads and the less familiar routesegment and a frequency with which the user has traveled on each of theidentified plurality of traveled roads.
 11. A system for determining aroute, the system comprising: a routing module configured to receive astarting point and a destination point, to compute a route from thestarting point to the destination point, to determine automatically analternative route from the starting point to the destination point thatincludes a familiar route segment identified based on the user's travel,the familiar route segment providing an alternate route for a lessfamiliar route segment in the computed route, and to provide thecomputed route and the alternative route for presentation in a formatthat distinguishes the computed route from the alternative route. 12.The system of claim 11 further comprising a positioning systemconfigured to determine the starting point based on a current positionof a device associated with the user.
 13. The system of claim 11 furthercomprising: a positioning system configured to track the user's positionwhile the user is traveling; a map source configured to correlate theposition of the user with a road on a map; and a storage mechanism thatstores a plurality of roads on which the user has traveled.
 14. Thesystem of claim 13 wherein the routing module is further configured tosearch the plurality of traveled roads, to identify a plurality oftraveled roads that fall within the scaled range of the less familiarroute segment, and to select the familiar road from the identifiedplurality of traveled roads based on a distance between each of theidentified traveled roads and the less familiar route segment and afrequency with which the user has traveled on each of the identifiedplurality of traveled roads.
 15. A non-transitory computer readablemedium containing programming instructions for determining a route, theprogramming instructions for: receiving a starting point and adestination point; computing a route from the starting point to thedestination point; determining automatically an alternative route fromthe starting point to the destination point that includes a familiarroute segment identified based on a user's travel history, the familiarroute segment providing an alternate route for a less familiar routesegment in the computed route; and providing the computed route and thealternative route for presentation in a format that distinguishes thecomputed route from the alternative route.
 16. A method for presenting aroute, the method comprising: by an electronic device including one ormore processors: receiving a route from a starting point to adestination point; determining automatically an alternative route fromthe starting point to the destination point that includes a familiarroute segment identified based on a user's travel history, the familiarroute segment providing an alternate route for a less familiar routesegment in the received route; and presenting the received route and thealternative route in a format that distinguishes the computed route fromthe alternative route.
 17. The method of claim 16 further comprisingdetermining a plurality of roads on which the user has traveled andstoring the plurality of traveled roads.
 18. The method of claim 17wherein determining the plurality of traveled roads includes using anelectronic positioning system to track the user's position while theuser is traveling and using a map source to correlate the user'sposition with a road.
 19. The method of claim 17 comprising: searchingthe plurality of traveled roads to identify a portion of a traveled roadthat falls within the scaled range of the less familiar route segment,wherein the portion of the traveled road within the scaled range is aportion on which the user has not traveled.
 20. The method of claim 17comprising: searching the plurality of traveled roads to identify aportion of a traveled road that falls within the scaled range of theless familiar route segment, wherein the portion of the traveled roadwithin the scaled range is a portion on which the user has traveled. 21.The method of claim 17 comprising: searching the plurality of traveledroads to identify a plurality of traveled roads that fall within thescaled range of the less familiar route segment; and selecting thefamiliar road from the identified plurality of traveled roads based on adistance between each of the identified traveled roads and the lessfamiliar route segment and a frequency with which the user has traveledon each of the identified plurality of traveled roads.
 22. A system forpresenting a route, the system comprising: a routing module configuredto receive a route from a starting point to a destination point, todetermine automatically an alternative route from the starting point tothe destination point that includes a familiar route segment identifiedbased on a user's travel history, the familiar route segment providingan alternate route for a less familiar route segment in the computedroute; and a display configured to present the route and the alternativeroute in a format that distinguishes the computed route from thealternative route.
 23. The system of claim 22 further comprising: apositioning system configured to track the user's position while theuser is traveling; a map source configured to correlate the position ofthe user with a road on a map; and a storage mechanism that stores aplurality of roads on which the user has traveled.
 24. The system ofclaim 23 wherein the routing module is further configured to search theplurality of traveled roads, to identify a plurality of traveled roadsthat fall within the scaled range of the less familiar route segment,and to select the familiar road from the identified plurality oftraveled roads based on a distance between each of the identifiedtraveled roads and the less familiar route segment and a frequency withwhich the user has traveled on each of the identified plurality oftraveled roads.
 25. A non-transitory computer readable medium containingprogramming instructions for determining a route, the programminginstructions for: receiving a route from a starting point to adestination point; determining automatically an alternative route fromthe starting point to the destination point that includes a familiarroute segment identified based on a user's travel history, the familiarroute segment providing an alternate route for a less familiar routesegment in the computed route; and presenting the route and thealternative route in a format that distinguishes the computed route fromthe alternative route.